


she plays for the other team

by maggiesalex



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, and just the four of them being cute together, equal parts sanvers and supercorp, switches between alexs pov and karas pov, the image of kara in a softball uniform made me write this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-09-14 03:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9157948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maggiesalex/pseuds/maggiesalex
Summary: "She’s seriously debating going down there and dragging Kara out of here by her unnecessarily perky ponytail, when her eyes land on a dark haired girl scribbling notes on a purple clipboard. Of course Maggie Sawyer looks perfect in a softball uniform. "Orthe highschool au no one asked for featuring awkward lesbian alex danvers, softball player kara, slow burn sanvers/supercorp, and the kara/maggie brotp we all deserve





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> fair warning i've never actually played softball so let me know if there are any mistakes with how the game works

Alex wraps her leather jacket tighter around her body, shivering in the chilly autumn air. She tries to resist checking the time _again_ , knowing it’s just been a couple minutes since she last pulled out her phone, but waiting in the crowded, nosebleed section of the school bleachers doesn’t leave her with much to do for entertainment.

Finally she spots the red and white uniforms of National High’s varsity softball team running out onto the field. It doesn’t take her long to find Kara’s low ponytail bouncing happily under her hat (turned backwards, because according to her sister “that’s how the cool kids wear it”).

Kara turns and waves at Alex, a huge grin spread across her face. Even from this far away, Alex can see her literally bouncing with excitement.

Alex’s hand is mid-wave when the bouncing is replaced by Kara floating half a foot in the air.

Panic rises in her chest and Alex starts frantically gesturing at the hovering girl, _this_ was exactly why Kara and softball was a terrible idea. Alex has seen Kara hit a softball through a brick wall and into the windshield of a car three blocks away. And while with practice her sister has gotten much better at hiding her powers, Alex still firmly believes that this is only going to end in disaster, and probably more shattered windshields.  

Kara realizes her mistake and quickly floats back down to the ground, giving Alex two thumbs up after checking to make sure no one had noticed her slip. Alex groans, the game hasn’t even started and she’s already a worried mess.

She’s seriously debating going down there and dragging Kara out of here by her unnecessarily perky ponytail, when her eyes land on a dark haired girl scribbling notes on a purple clipboard. _Of course_ Maggie Sawyer looks perfect in a softball uniform. Alex feels her cheeks turning bright red, and tries to convince herself it’s from the cold.

Maggie bites her lip, her brow furrowing as she makes a difficult decision, and Alex’s breath catches in her chest. Maggie transferred to National High just over a month ago, and Alex is convinced that Maggie is karma’s punishment for that B- she got on a physics quiz. Maggie sits two seats in front of her in calculus, has a locker right next to the bathroom that Alex always happens to be using (she just enjoys the walk to the third floor), and apparently, is the captain of the softball team.

Alex can’t decide if she wants to kill Kara for not telling her this sooner, or thank her, because there’s no way she would have shown up if she had known. It’s not that Maggie intimidates her- Alex doesn’t get intimidated, she does the intimidating- it’s just that she can’t seem to form a coherent sentence when Maggie’s talking to her. Or when Maggie’s in the room. Or when Alex is thinking about Maggie.

It’s getting to be a problem.

 

//

 

Kara tries not to laugh at the dopey look on her sister’s face, as she stares helplessly at Maggie. She supposes it’s an improvement on the twitchy worried face Alex has been giving her all day.

Both teams are standing around their respective benches, going over last minute game plans and waiting for the umpire to call them onto the field. Kara glances at the tight huddle of the Cadmus Prep team, where a pretty, dark haired girl is whispering intently.

“Keep your distance, Danvers. Cadmus is trouble.” Kara startles at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder, and turns to look up at a grinning Maggie Sawyer.

“Trouble?” She asks, straightening her glasses and going back to studying the other team. The dark haired girl is laughing at something a fellow teammate said, and Kara can’t help smiling in return.

“Yeah the Luthors practically own the place, and they’re not used to coming in second.”, Maggie pauses to spit out the gum she’d been chewing, “My cousin goes to Metropolis CI, says last year their boys track captain ended up in the hospital after he beat Lex Luthor in the finals. Both legs broken, and he swears it was Lex who did it.”

Kara gasps. “And Lex didn’t get in trouble? He should be in prison.”

“That’s the thing.” Maggie replies, “ _Cadmus_ ended up suing the school, some kind of bullshit accusation about them having an alien on their team. They nearly got shut down. But Cadmus dropped the suit after the kid agreed not to press charges against Lex.”

Kara pales, wondering if there was any truth to that claim. Maybe she shouldn’t be doing this. She’d never even considered that the whole school could be closed because of her.

“That’s - that’s just ridiculous. The alien part I mean. Not the kid getting beaten up, that’s terrible. But the lawsuit doesn’t make sense, they’re not going to find an alien at the school. And even if an alien _did_ go there, it’s not like it would waste its time playing high school sports-”

“Don’t look so scared, kid.” Maggie laughs. She grabs Kara’s baseball cap and flips it around, placing it back on her head facing the proper direction. “We’re still going to kick their asses, we’re just not going to be idiots about it.”

Kara bites her lip and nods solemnly. She can do this, Alex’s worrying is just messing with her head. But she’s ready, and after they totally crush Cadmus her and Alex are going to go get celebratory pizza. And ice cream. And maybe even stop for donuts if Alex is in a good mood.

Straightening her cap, Kara walks past Maggie towards where her glove and bat lie next to the bench. Maggie grins again, giving her a high five as she passes.

 

//

 

The Cadmus player passes home just before Kara’s throw reaches the catcher. She tries not to groan as she watches the score change to 8-7. They had started the final inning with a three point lead, but Cadmus had managed to score two quick runs, and with the bases loaded, are dangerously close to taking the game.

The next hit is soft and high, and Maggie is able to catch it almost effortlessly. Kara takes a moment to cheer for the shortstop, and smirks when she thinks of how Alex must be struggling to convince herself that wasn’t really hot.

That’s two outs, if they can just stop Cadmus from getting another point, the game is theirs. Kara can feel the adrenaline coursing through her, and she shifts impatiently from foot to foot. She wants to show Maggie she was right to let a junior onto the team, she wants to make Alex proud of her, and most of all she _really_ wants to beat Cadmus.

There’s a loud _crack_ as ball meets bat, and suddenly it’s flying through the air, and, Kara quickly realizes, right towards her.

Only, not quite. Because the ball is short and Kara can already tell that it’s going to land between first and second. With a burst of speed much faster than her and Alex had practiced, faster than any human teenager should be capable of, Kara races forwards.

Still a little short, she dives forward, flying so that she lands just a couple feet further than a normal jump. Kara feels the firm thud of the ball in her glove as she’s halfway to the ground, and she has a split second to celebrate before she crashes into another player.

Her head hits the ground awkwardly, but Kara’s only concern is trying not to hurt the person underneath her. She can hear a mixture of cheers and shouts coming from the bleachers as she quickly does her best to roll off the wriggling player.

“I’m so _so_ sorry-” Kara begins as soon as she’s standing, “I wasn’t watching where I was going and suddenly you were just - _there._ And I was going so fast, Alex is going to kill me…”

Kara looks down and realizes the Cadmus player is still sitting on the ground, gingerly poking at a quickly forming bruise on her forehead. It’s the pretty, dark haired girl Kara had been watching earlier, and Kara winces at the blotchy purple spreading over her porcelain skin.

“Here, let me help you.” Kara reaches out, and the girl takes her hand, tentatively getting to her feet. “Are you alright? Maybe you shouldn’t be standing, I can go get help-”

“No don’t, I’m fine.” The other girl tightens her grip on Kara’s hand, preventing her from walking away. “It’s just a bruise.”

Kara hesitates, but eventually nods, and the girl let’s go of her hand. “I’m Kara, by the way. And I really am sorry for knocking you over. And about the game.” Kara watches the players beginning to leave the field, her fellow teammates high fiving, and the Cadmus players looking annoyed.

The girl smirks. “I’m Lena. And don’t be, I was hoping we’d lose.”

Kara gives her a strange look, but before she can question Lena further she sees Maggie and some other girls from the team approaching.

“Danvers!” Maggie calls, running the rest of the way and grabbing Kara in a tight hug. Pulling back, she grins. “That was amazing! Who knew you had feet like that?”

Kara laughs, catching on to Maggie’s enthusiasm. She turns to introduce Maggie to her new sort-of-friend, but Lena’s already gone, walking alone back towards her team’s bench. A flash of annoyance rises in Kara’s chest when she realizes none of Lena’s teammates came to see if she was ok. Maybe the fall just didn’t look as bad as it felt.

Thought’s of Lena vanish as Kara looks up and sees Alex walking towards her from the direction of the bleachers.

 

//

 

Alex _knew_ this had been a bad idea. And she’s completely ready to tell Kara this, when she sees that her little sister is standing next to none other than Maggie Sawyer. Maggie Sawyer in a softball uniform, sweaty and covered in grass stains and somehow still looking gorgeous.

Alex sighs as she immediately feels her carefully planned lecture slip out of her brain. She was going to have to be quick.

Forcing what she hopes looks like a casual smile and avoiding eye contact with Maggie, she says “Hey Kara, we should probably get going.”

Turning on her heel and hoping Kara will follow, she starts walking away when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Turning back again, Alex’s breath catches when she finds her face is just inches away from Maggie Sawyer.

“Hold on a second, do I know you from somewhere?”

Alex tries to come up with an answer to that question, but with Maggie’s face so close to hers, she struggles to think of anything resembling normal to say. It would be weird to tell her about the locker thing, right?

Luckily, Kara steps in and saves her. “Maggie, this is my older sister Alex. She’s my biggest fan.”

Maggie raises her eyebrows and gives Alex an appraising look. “There are two of you?” She laughs and looks from Alex to Kara. “Danvers and Little Danvers.”

Alex grins at the fact that Maggie Sawyer now knows her name, and at the scrunched up annoyed face Kara is making.

“How come I have to be Little Danvers?” She pouts, giving Maggie her best puppy dog eyes.  “You knew me first.”

“Sorry kid, you may be on the team, but Alex is a senior. I stick by my people.” She pats Kara affectionately on the head. “But keep playing like you did today and I’ll have to start calling you Super Danvers. Or maybe just Supergirl, that’s a bit of a mouthful.”

Kara beams at the praise. “Supergirl. I can deal with that.”

“I don’t know how much more softball you’ll be doing.” Alex cuts in, giving Kara a meaningful glance, “Today’s game seemed pretty dangerous, maybe this wasn’t the best idea.”

Kara’s face quickly shifts back to anger, but before she has a chance to get mad at Alex, Maggie has started speaking. “That tumble she took? That was nothing. You’re not a true softball player until you’ve eaten some dirt.”

Somehow she’s ended up in an argument with Maggie Sawyer about the risks of softball, and this was not how Alex envisioned her day going. Since she wasn’t going to be able to bring up her actual concerns, Alex decided it would be best to just drop the subject.

“I guess you’re right.” She laughs nervously, “I’m sorry. The overprotectiveness comes with the older sister thing.”

“No, I think it’s sweet.” Maggie smiles at her, all dimples. Alex melts. If this was what happens when Kara plays softball, it might be worth all the risks.

Maggie looks at Kara, “Now I think Supergirl has earned a reward. How about we all go out for pizza, I’m buying?”

Before Alex has a chance to even open her mouth, Kara has responded with an extremely enthusiastic yes, and is already listing off all the toppings she wants. It looks like Maggie’s going to learn the hard way the risks of offering to buy Kara food.

Mid pizza rant, Kara pauses, eyes focusing on something over Alex’s shoulder. “Can you guys give me a minute? There’s something I need to do.”

She begins to sprint off in the direction she was staring before stopping, and giving Alex a not at all subtle wink. “You two get to know each other while I’m gone.”

 

//

 

Kara approaches the quickly emptying Cadmus bench, where Lena is sitting holding an ice pack up to her forehead. She gives Kara a questioning look when she sees her, but doesn’t say anything when Kara sits down beside her.

“Hi Lena!” Kara starts, suddenly feeling nervous and not sure why. “I just came over to apologize. Again.” She fidgets with her glasses before clasping her hands tightly in her lap. “And ask if I could buy you some pizza to make up for it. Well, I’m already going with a couple friends, but they’re _really nice_ and I’m sure you’d love them. Unless of course you already have plans with your team-”

“Kara, let me stop you.” Lena smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “That’s a very kind offer, but you should know. My full name is Lena Luthor.”

“Oh.” Kara pauses, processing the new information. “You mean... like Lex Luthor?” Maggie’s warning to keep her distance flashes through her mind.

Lena sighs, her face turning impassive as if she’s had this conversation many times. “The Lex Luthor who broke the guy’s legs and walked free? I’m his sister.” She hesitates, maybe waiting for Kara to say something, but then stands. “Look, thank you for inviting me, but I really should be going.”

“No, wait.” Kara’s hand shoots out, grabbing Lena’s wrist and stopping her from leaving. “Who care’s what your brother did, I’m asking if _you_ want to go get pizza.”

Lena stares at her, and when the silence goes on long enough to become awkward Kara adds, “There might even be ice cream after.”

Another long pause, and then, “Well...how can I say no to ice cream?”

The Luthors may be bad news, but Kara’s never been one to shy away from danger. And the smile on Lena’s face makes everything seem worth it.


	2. chapter 2

The pizza place is crowded with students looking for cheap food after the game, and the four of them are forced to squish around a table designed for two. Alex winds up caught between a ceramic wall covered in questionable graffiti, and Maggie, still wearing her uniform. Their thighs and shoulders are pressed tightly together, and it’s all Alex can do to keep her breathing steady.

She glances helplessly towards the counter, wondering when their food will be ready. It’s been 16 minutes and 34 seconds since they ordered and Alex has managed not to completely embarrass herself yet, but it will be much easier once she’s able to stuff a piece of pizza in her mouth every time she wants to tell Maggie the cheap fluorescent lights make her eyes sparkle.

She can barely hear the story Kara’s telling about the time her and James took Winn to a soccer game, but Alex can feel Maggie’s breath on her cheek every time she laughs. Her only distraction is the way Kara hopefully glances at Lena whenever she says something funny, looking for a laugh or a smile, and practically beaming whenever Lena obliges.

“And then he looked at me and asked ‘how many more touchdowns until half time?’” Kara finishes, smiling proudly when Lena has to cover her laugh with her hand.

Beside her Maggie collapses in a fit of giggles, leaning her head on Alex’s shoulder as she tries to calm down.

“What about you Danvers?” Maggie asks, glancing up, but keeping her head resting gently against Alex. “I haven’t seen you at any of the pep rallies, not a sports person?”

Alex thinks of the volleyball team sweater hanging in her closet, unworn since she first earned it in freshman year. After Kara showed up, school sports just weren’t something she had time for.

“Not officially.” Alex starts, “But I can still hold my own against Kara in most things. All my AP classes just make it hard to commit to a team.”

“Nerd.” Maggie laughs, sitting up and playfully nudging Alex with her shoulder.

Alex feels herself blush, and quickly looks around for a place to shift the attention to. “Lena! What made you want to start softball?”

She’s pretty proud of the smooth transition, but beside her Maggie recoils, giving Lena a strange look.

Alex frowns. Maggie had been acting weird around Lena all night. At first she had figured it was just Maggie reacting to having another person added to their plans, but now it felt like there was something more than that.

Before Lena has a chance to answer, an aproned employee calls their order number from behind the counter.

“I’ll go get it.” Maggie says quickly, pushing her stool back and practically running away from the table.

Alex turns back to a confused looking Kara, chewing on her lip as she watches Maggie go pick up their food. Lena now looks decidedly uncomfortable and gives a quick answer about her brother teaching her softball when she was younger, before pulling out her phone.

When Maggie reappears holding two steaming boxes and a pile of napkins, Lena stands up. “I’m sorry I just got a text from my mother, I really need to get home.” she smiles at Kara, “Thank you for inviting me. It meant a lot.”

Kara jumps up, panic flashing across her face. “You have to go? Now?” She looks to the window where the sun has just begun to dip below the clouds. “It’s almost dark out. How about I walk you home?”

Lena seems genuinely surprised. “If you’re sure you want to, I’d certainly welcome the company.”

Kara looks to Alex for permission and she hesitates, but nods her approval.

Squealing happily, Kara grabs her bag and swings it over her shoulder. “Great! I’ll see you at home tonight then. Bye Maggie!” And with a quick wave, she’s gone, hovering close to Lena’s side and already chatting animatedly.

Alex stares incredulously at the uneaten pizza on the table, Kara didn’t even give it a second glance.

Even though the table has now emptied out, Maggie stays pushed up beside Alex’s chair. Grinning, she pulls one of the boxes towards her.

“Well Danvers, it looks like we’re going to have to eat all this pizza on our own.”

///

They turn down a small side street and the noise from the busy shops quickly fades, leaving the pair in a comfortable silence. They’re walking close together and every time their shoulders bump Kara feels an electric shock shoot through her body. It was probably rude of her to leave her sister and Maggie alone like that, but the feeling of rebellion is only adding to her high, and Kara can’t be bothered to feel guilty right now.

Lena turns them down yet another small street. “I hope you’re alright taking the scenic route. It’s longer, but the houses around here are all so pretty.”

“They are.” Kara agrees, staring at Lena. She seems much more relaxed now that they’ve left the restaurant, a casual smile playing at her lips. Some hair has fallen loose from her tight ponytail and frames her face, blowing gently in the breeze. Kara has the sudden urge to tuck it behind her ear. Instead, she stuffs her hands deep into her sweater pockets.

“Earlier, you said you were happy that you lost the game. What did you mean?” Kara asks, bringing up the question that’s been puzzling her.

“Oh, it’s stupid.” Lena looks up at Kara nervously, “It’s just, after everything that happened with Lex last year, all my mother seems to care about is rebuilding the school’s reputation.”

Suddenly Lena seems very interested in a loose thread on her jersey. “Before the game she gave me a whole speech on how I should do ‘whatever it takes’ to win. I won’t go into detail, but some of the strategies she suggested were...outside the rules. And that’s-” Lena sighs, and looks up at Kara, their eyes meeting for the first time, “that’s not the kind of person that I want to be.”

There’s a raw honesty in Lena’s eyes, and Kara loses herself in it, not even realizing that they’ve stopped walking.

“And you’re not.” she says, wanting, somehow, to remove the pained expression on Lena’s face. To fix things.

“I’ve never said that before. Not out loud at least.” Lena smiles at Kara, and then shivers as a particularly strong gust of wind blows through.

The moment is broken, and Kara realizes that it’s actually quite cold out. She looks at Lena, still in just her sleeveless jersey. Almost on instinct, she slips her sweater off, wordlessly handing it to Lena.

“Won’t you just be cold now?” Lena says, looking at the equally skimpy jersey that Kara’s wearing underneath.

“Don’t worry, I can’t feel it.” Kara freezes, realizing that probably sounds strange. “I mean - it doesn’t bother me. Of course I can feel the cold, I’m just still hot from that crowded restaurant.”

Lena’s mouth curves up when she says the word ‘hot’ and Kara can feel the blush crawling up her cheeks.

“Just take the sweater.” Kara says, pushing it out in Lena’s direction, while simultaneously trying to use it to hide her face.

“My hero.” Lena laughs, sliding the sweater over her shoulders. The team sweaters had just arrived last week so Kara’s is still reasonably clean, the white letters on the back spelling out ‘DANVERS’ almost glowing in the low light.

It’s dark enough for the streetlights to have turned on, and their shadows stretch long behind them as they continue their walk towards Lena’s house.

As they walk they take turns pointing out their favourite houses. Kara always choosing the fancier Victorian style mansions, saying they remind her of gingerbread houses (she’s beginning to regret not taking any pizza with her), and Lena preferring the older, more subtle ones.

As they get closer to Lena’s home, the houses slowly start to become larger and more modern. “That one looks like an art project I failed in seventh grade.” Kara says, pointing to what is essentially a solid black square with windows.

Lena laughs through Kara’s explanation of how she thought “portraits of famous people” included robots, but refuses to choose a house of her own.

“They’re all so impersonal. Just glass symbols of power and wealth.”

When they reach Lena’s house, Kara feels her steps slowing down, reluctant to have to say goodbye. “We should practice together sometime. Softball, I mean.” She smiles nervously at Lena, hoping that she’s not overstepping their new friendship. “I know your mom’s forcing you to do this. But wouldn’t it be better to get back at her by showing her you have the skills needed to win just based on talent alone? We could train together.”

“That would be great, I’d love to.” Lena smiles, and Kara’s pretty sure she’ll never get tired of the sight. Lena reaches into her backpack and fishes out a pen, before grabbing one of Kara’s hands and quickly scribbling some numbers.

Lena carefully takes off Kara’s sweater. Leaning forward she wraps it around Kara like a cape, with an arm on either side of her head. Her hands resting gently on Kara’s shoulders, she smirks and says “Call me.” before turning and heading inside.

///

They’re only a little into the second box when Alex decides if she eats anymore pizza, she will definitely explode. Besides, it’s mostly Kara’s weird pineapple anchovy slices left, and not even Maggie has been brave enough to try those.

Maggie is currently trying to fit an entire crust in her mouth, and getting sauce all over her nose in the process. What should be extremely gross, has somehow turned adorable and Alex can’t hide her smile.

“Something funny Danvers?” Maggie asks around a mouthful of pizza.

“Nope, everything’s great Rudolph.” Alex answers, smirking and pointing at her own nose. She grabs a napkin to throw at Maggie, but at the last second she changes her mind and leans forwards, rubbing the sauce off herself.

“There. Much better.” Their faces are just inches apart, and it would be so easy for Alex to just lean down and-

No, there were no ‘ands’ happening tonight. Or ever, if Alex’s dating history was anything to go by. She sighs and sits back in her own chair, looking around the now almost empty restaurant.

“So I was getting kind of a weird vibe from you around Lena earlier.”

“Mmjdhs?” Maggie replies, before swallowing and continuing, “I was just surprised Kara invited her.”

Alex frowns. She’s heard about everything that happened with Lex the past year, she’d followed the alien law suit almost as adamantly as she’d hidden it from Kara. Alex just never figured Maggie would be the type to care about that kind of stuff.

“Is it about the Lex thing?”

“What? No, of course I don’t blame Lena for that. I just... don’t think that’s the best family for Kara to get involved with. I wouldn’t want her to get hurt.”

Alex smiles at the way Maggie’s hands ball into fists at the idea of someone hurting Kara. “Now who’s being the overprotective one?”

Maggie relaxes at that, laughing at the reference to what Maggie has been calling Alex’s Soccer Mom Moment.

“You know what, Danvers? You’re alright.” Maggie smiles and inclines her head, as if this was the highest praise she could give.

“Just alright?” Alex replies, smirking and raising her eyebrows.

“You’re a nerd, but you’re funny and you care about your sister. I can respect that.”

“Oh, well….pffft.” Alex struggles to find something to say as she processes Maggie’s words.

Maggie’s smile only grows at Alex’s internal panic. “And you’re cute when you blush.” She winks and stands up, using her foot to push her stool in. “I’ve got to go, but practice ends at 4:30 tomorrow. Maybe I’ll see you after?”

Alex doesn’t trust herself to speak, so she just nods weakly, waving at Maggie as she leaves.

It’s another five minutes before Alex has calmed down enough to move. She wraps up the leftover pizza in napkins, even though Kara really doesn’t deserve it after ditching her like that. She’s just packing up her bag when her phone buzzes.

She pulls it out and finds a text from an unknown number. _4:30, back field next to the bleachers ;)_.

Alex has no idea where Maggie got her phone number. She saves the contact as “Sawyer”, adds a heart emoji and then erases it, before slipping her phone back into her pocket.

She has until 4:30 tomorrow to get her heart to stop racing. Great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come say hi on tumblr @maggiesalex! also @saviorsanvers has made some amazing aesthetics for the fic so check those out if you're interested!


	3. chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a while, but this fic is back! i'm sorry about the long wait, but hopefully i'll be able to have chapter 4 up a lot quicker!

Alex curses as she drops her pencil and watches in resignation as it quickly falls to the bottom of the bleachers. Admittedly the top of the school bleachers wasn’t the ideal place to be doing physics homework, but over the past few weeks it had become tradition for her to hang out at the Thursday softball practices.

She told herself she was just doing this to keep an eye on Kara, make sure there were no more super-mistakes, but so far this practice she had barely glanced at her younger sister. Maggie keeps grinning at her and winking whenever she makes a particularly impressive catch or hit, and Alex is convinced that she’s just showing off at this point.

Alex is searching through her backpack for another pencil when she notices Maggie lifting up her jersey to wipe some sweat off her forehead, and Alex bites her lip as she stares at the strip of tan stomach that’s revealed. Maybe she should leave the homework for later.

“Getting a lot of work done?”

Alex starts as she realizes Kara is standing next to her, trying and failing to drink from her water bottle and redo her ponytail at the same time.

“I lost my pencil.” She replies as she smirks at the water Kara has managed to spill all over her jersey. Alex reaches into her bag and tosses Kara her gym shirt to mop it up with, before grabbing her physics textbook and opening it to a random page.

“I’ve been studying.” She says defensively, glaring at Kara.

“You’ve definitely been studying _something_ ” Kara says, staring pointedly at where Maggie is practicing her swing. “Also, your book is upside down.”

Before Alex can come up with a suitable response, Kara is already running back towards the field, tossing Alex’s now ruined gym shirt back over her shoulder.

 

//

 

Alex gets up as she watches Maggie end the practice, and slowly starts walking towards the huddle of girls.

“Our number one fan is here.” Maggie smiles at Alex as she waves goodbye to the rest of the team. “Should we be getting you a cheerleading uniform, Danvers?”

Alex tries to glare at Maggie, but can’t stop herself from smiling. “I was-”

“Studying?” Maggie cuts her off. “Yeah, I noticed.” She bumps her shoulder into Alex’s and Alex can feel herself blush.

“I was going to say just leaving. I need to drop Kara off at Lena’s, but we could hang out back at my place after if you wanted.”

Alex tried to hide the fact that the question made her nervous. Normally her and Maggie would just go to the mall or the rec center across from the school after practice. Maggie still hadn't seen any more than the outside of Alex's house.

Maggie’s smile softens at Alex’s tone. “Sounds great, Alex.” She links arms with Alex and begins leading them towards where Kara is sitting on the field, changing out of her running shoes and talking to Winn and James.

Alex lets out a breath she hadn’t realised she had been holding and happily follows Maggie.

“Let’s get going Kara.” She calls out, knowing that when Kara is talking to her friends it can be hours before she’s done. “Lena called me five times the last time you were late.”

Kara stops mid-sentence and glances at her phone in fear. “How is it already five?” She quickly gets up, not bothering to finish tying her shoes. “I’m sorry guys I’ve got to fly. I mean run. I mean.. Alex is going to drive me.”

 

Maggie laughs as Kara starts hopping towards the parking lot. “You were half an hour late for practice tuesday morning, I wasn’t aware punctuality was so important to you Kara.”

 

Alex can’t tell if Kara stops because of Maggie or her rapidly falling off sneakers. “First of all, I’m pretty sure there’s some law against 6:00 am practices, they can not be legal. And I think it’s sweet that Lena worries about me.” Kara smiles up from where she’s just managed to get her laces under control.

“Well we wouldn’t want to make the woman wait. I call shotgun!” Maggie quickly drops Alex’s arm and runs off towards her car.

“No for shotgun you have to be near the- Maggie, wait!” Kara turns to Alex and gives her her best puppy dog eyes. “Can I use my-”

“No, play fair.” Alex shakes her head as she watches Kara sigh and then run off after Maggie at a human speed, yelling about the rules of shotgun.

By the time Alex reaches her car, she finds Maggie lounging in the front seat and a pouting Kara sitting in the back.  

 

//

 

“So you and Lena, you’re close?” Maggie asks from the front seat. Alex can hear the passive aggressive tone in Maggie’s question, but apparently Kara can’t as she happily begins talking about all the time her and Lena have been spending together recently.

The moment passes and the conversation switches to the worst and best teachers at National High. Alex is able to relax again, happily joking with Maggie and her sister, and the drive passes quickly.

When she pulls up in front of Lena’s house Alex has almost forgotten about the awkward moment, but Maggie’s uneasy face as she stares at the large mansion reminds her.

Kara’s just moving to open the car door when Maggie turns quickly around and stops her.

“You know I’m actually in the mood for a movie. How about Alex and I drop you two at the Danvers household and you guys can have the place to yourselves?” Maggie stops Kara before she gets out.

Kara pauses, considering the offer. “We do have better xbox games. Lena’s mom won’t let her play anything with fighting. I’ll go ask her.”

The sound of the car door closing echoes in the quiet car. Alex feels her heart sink a little. Maggie hesitates, before turning to face her.

“Alex, I know you wanted to show me your place. But I just remembered you haven’t seen Hidden Figures yet, so how about it? I’ll buy the popcorn.”

Thoughts of sitting with Maggie in a dark theater sharing popcorn distract Alex, and she finds that her smile is only a little forced.

“That sounds perfect Maggie.”

 

//

 

“So you never told me how your movie date with Maggie went.” Kara looks up from the cookbook she’s trying to decipher and grins at Alex. “It’s been three days, normally you can’t _stop_ talking about her.”

“It wasn’t a _date_.” Alex replies glaring down at Kara from where she’s perched on the kitchen counter. “At least I don’t think it was. We haven’t really talked about… that.”

“Well that’s your problem.” Kara says, as she begins pulling ingredients out of the pantry. “One of you needs to make the first move.”

Alex sighs. “I don’t even know if she likes me like that. I invited her over here for the first time and she ended up changing the plans last minute. That’s weird, right?”

Kara hovers up to reach the measuring cup sitting on top of the fridge, rolling her eyes at Alex’s disapproving look. “You should invite her over right now. She could help with the cookies.”

“She’s out of town visiting her grandmother.” Alex pouts, “She won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon.”

“Well then maybe you can help out.” Kara says pointedly, “Instead of sitting there eating all of my chocolate chips.”

“I don’t do baking.” Alex laughs, lounging back against the wall. “And I didn’t think you did either. What’s with the sudden hobby?”

“Lena’s team won a tough game yesterday, I thought I would make her something to celebrate.”

“Ah, I see.” Alex raises her eyebrows, smirking at Kara. “Hoping she plays for the other team in more ways than one?”

Kara freezes, her hand clenching and accidentally crushing the egg she’s holding. She hadn’t realized her crush was _that_ obvious. “Lena and I are just friends.” She starts. “I don’t think she has many friends, so I want to do something special for her.”

Kara uses her hand to try sweeping the spilled egg off of the counter and into her mixing bowl. Alex throws a last handful of chocolate chips into her mouth, before sliding down off the counter and grabbing Kara’s wrist.

“If she’s such a good _friend_ then she doesn’t deserve to be poisoned.”

Kara opens her mouth to deliver her already planned speech on how just because she broke the toaster that one time (admittedly closer to seven times, but Alex doesn’t know about half of those), it doesn’t mean she’s incompetent in the kitchen. But Alex cuts her off before she can get a word out.

“Go wash your hands, and I’ll start getting this mess cleaned up.” Alex gives Kara a serious look, raising her finger. “Just because I’m helping you doesn’t mean that I bake. This is just disaster prevention.”

“Of course.” Kara replies, nodding and doing her best not to laugh. “We can tell everyone you spent the weekend sharpening your knives and beating people up.”

“Just go clean yourself up.” Alex laughs, “And no more holding eggs.”

 

//

 

Kara has the tin of chocolate chip cookies under her arm as she walks towards the community center Cadmus uses for weekend practices. By the time her and Alex were finished baking Kara was so covered in various ingredients she had to take a shower, so she’s later than she would have liked.

Lena’s practice would have ended twenty minutes ago, but hopefully she’ll have been slow getting her things together. Kara wanted this to be a surprise, but now she’s wondering if she should have texted Lena in advance.

Kara pushes open the community center door and is on her way to check the change rooms, when her hearing picks up Lena’s voice.

“So everything’s ready for tomorrow night?”

Kara smiles, glad that all her worrying was for nothing.

“Yeah, I think we’re all set. I’ll text you later tonight.”

Kara freezes when she hears the second voice. It’s just as familiar as Lena’s, and usually one that she is happy to hear.

She hesitates, but quickly slides her glasses down. Looking through the wall into the almost empty change room, she sees Lena Luthor and Maggie Sawyer pulling back from a hug.


	4. chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been forever i know, but this chapter is extra long so hopefully that makes up for it! this fic is starting to get a Plot so get ready!!

Kara picks up her fourth cookie of the night as she watches Alex pacing back and forth in front of her. The tin intended for Lena sits open on the counter, and between Alex’s stress eating and her own never ending appetite, Kara’s pretty sure it will be empty within the hour. 

“You’re  _ positive  _ it was Maggie?” Alex asks, not stopping to make eye contact. “You said you were outside the room. How can you be sure?”

Kara sighs, swallowing the rest of her cookie before opening her mouth to explain the details  _ again.  _ “We’ve been over this Alex. Super hearing and X-ray vision. It was her.”

The pacing is beginning to make Kara dizzy, so she reaches out and grabs Alex’s hand, effectively bringing it to a halt. “Maybe you should call Maggie.”

Alex sits down next to Kara, leaning her head against her sister’s shoulder. “I just don’t understand why she would lie to me.”

They sit in silence for a beat, and then Alex looks up. “You don’t think her and Lena are dating, do you?”

Kara frowns at Alex, a look of fear flashing across her face. “I don’t know. They just hugged, I hug people all the time.”

Suddenly Alex has grabbed another cookie from the tin and is back to pacing around the living room. “That’s why she was so weird around Lena and why she lied about her grandma. I was so sure…”

Kara feels her heart clench at the idea of Lena being with Maggie, being with anyone else if she’s honest with herself. But Alex is already going for another cookie so  _ someone _ is going to have to do damage control.

“Alex, there’s no way of knowing until you talk to her. It’s late, you should get some sleep. Go find Maggie and figure things out tomorrow.”

Alex sighs and drops the cookie back into the tin. “You’re right. I’m probably just overreacting.”

She doesn’t look convinced, but she leans down and gives Kara a quick kiss on the forehead. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You’ll see, everything will work out.” Kara calls as Alex heads towards her bedroom. She’s just not sure who she’s trying to convince.

 

\--

 

Alex is curled up in bed wearing her coziest pajamas (the ones with the polka dots) when her phone starts buzzing. 

She groans and rolls over, pulling her blanket up over her head and waiting for the noise to go away. She’s currently a pathetic pool of self pity, and definitely not in the mood to talk to anyone. Whoever it is can just call back in the morning.

Eventually the room is quiet again and she’s just about to drift off when the buzzing returns. It has to be close to two am by now, what is so important?

Pushing down her first instinct to throw the phone across the room, Alex reaches over to her nightstand and roughly grabs it.

She’s about to yell at whoever is so intent on waking her up, when she notices the caller ID flashing  _ SAWYER  _ in bold glowing letters.

This day just keeps getting weirder. Alex rubs the sleep out of her eyes, and the name still hasn’t changed, so she takes a deep breath and picks up.

“I thought you weren’t back until tomorrow afternoon.” Alex didn’t mean to bring it up right away, but the words just slip out of her mouth, her voice rough with sleep.

“I missed you too Danvers.” Alex can hear the smirk in Maggie’s voice and she fights the urge to smile in return.

“Why are you calling, Maggie?”

“Want to do something illegal?”

Alex coughs. “ _ What?  _ Where are you?” She sits up and leans back against her headboard, resigning herself to the fact that she’s not going to sleep any time soon.

Something  _ thuds  _ against her window and Alex looks up to see a pebble bouncing off of it.

“I’m outside. Hurry up and get dressed, we don’t have all night.”

Before Alex can even finish processing the fact that Maggie Sawyer is currently outside her house, the line goes dead. A text message pops up saying  _ Be out in 5 mins. _

Alex shakes her head, already sure that this is a horrible idea. But before she can talk herself out of it, she’s up and hunting around for a pair of jeans.

 

\--

 

Sneaking out should be harder when your little sister has super hearing, but Kara sleeps like a dead person and Alex is able to get past her room without incident. 

Maggie is waiting outside, leaning against the wall under Alex’s window and looking entirely too nonchalant for an unexpected nighttime visitor. Her hair is tied back and she’s wearing dark jeans and a leather jacket. If Alex hadn’t been looking for her, she never would have noticed her standing there.

Maggie looks up and Alex puts a finger to her lips, gesturing for her to stay quiet. Grabbing Maggie’s hand, she leads her a safe distance away from the house before turning and whispering “Ok you need to explain everything.”

Maggie raises her eyebrows. “Everything?”

“Showing up at midnight. Talking about illegal stuff. Secret meetings with Lena Luthor. Were you even at your grandmother’s this weekend?” Alex keeps her voice a whisper and leans in close so Maggie can hear her. “What is going on?”

“So that was Kara I saw this morning.” Maggie sighs, “I thought that ponytail looked familiar.”

Alex crosses her arms and stares at Maggie, waiting for her to continue.

Maggie sighs, “Look this is going to sound weird, but I’m a bit of an amateur detective.”

Well, that definitely wasn’t what Alex was expecting. “What, like Encyclopedia Brown?” She asks sarcastically.

“I prefer Nancy Drew.” Maggie glares at her, “It started out small, just a quick way to make some cash. Eavesdropping on people and tracking down stolen shit, nothing major.”

Maggie brushes a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. “I guess I got sort of a reputation. Lena found me pretty quickly once I moved to National City. That’s when things got messy. She told me she was sure her mother was up to something shady, she just wanted me to poke around, see if I could figure out what was going on.”

“And did you?” Alex asks, feeling like she already knows the answer.

“Did I ever.” Maggie laughs humourlessly. “Lillian Luthor is more corrupt than any of the newspapers could even dream. It goes way past cheating at sports, there’s an entire anti-alien agenda that ties right into her grip on the school board. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Alex freezes.  _ Anti-alien agenda.  _ That is not good.

“And the strangest part?” Maggie looks up at Alex, her face all shadows in the moonlight. “Your sister seems to be at the centre of it all.”

Alex tries to hide the panic that was quickly starting to overtake her. Everyone knew that Lillian Luthor was trouble, and if she had somehow found out the truth about Kara…

“Is Kara in danger?” Alex asks, doing her best not to let her voice shake.

“Nothing immediate. As far as I know.” Maggie says. Her hand comes up and grips Alex’s shoulder tightly. “I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”

Alex relaxes slightly, just the feeling of Maggie’s hand helping to calm her down. “What do you need me to do?”

Maggie grins and pulls a keycard out of her pocket. “Lena was able to get us access to Luthor Corp, how do you feel about a little trespassing?”

 

\--

The building is silent and Alex jumps when the keycard makes a loud beeping noise. Maggie looks up at her and laughs. “This your first break and entry, Danvers?”

Alex huffs, “Not all of us are criminal masterminds.”

The light flashes green and Maggie quickly pushes open the door, gesturing for Alex to go in first. “I’m just trying to help out a friend.” She replies.

“So that’s all you and Lena are?” Alex starts, “Friends?” She’s glad it’s so dark in the building because she’s sure her face is bright red.

Maggie stops fiddling with the building’s elevator controls and turns around. “She’s not really my type. Besides, she’s head over heels for your sister.”

Alex let’s out a sigh of relief. “Did you know Kara was bringing her  _ cookies  _ when she saw you two?”

Maggie laughs, “Of course she was.” She pauses, “Alex, I’m sorry I lied to you like that. I wanted to keep Kara as far away from the Luthors and this mess as possible.”

“I understand. Kara’s safety is… my top priority.” Alex smiles softly, “It’s sweet how much you care about her.”

The elevator arrives and Alex follows Maggie into the small chamber.

“You don’t have any idea why Cadmus is so obsessed with Kara, do you?” Maggie asks, after pushing the button for the top floor.

Alex knows  _ exactly  _ why Cadmus is so obsessed with her sister, and she wants nothing more than to tell Maggie everything. But it’s not her secret to tell.

“I-” She pauses and Maggie gives her such an open look, honest concern for Kara shining in her eyes. Alex looks away. “I can’t think of anything.”

Maggie scrunches up her face, “This whole thing just feels weird. Like we’re missing a piece of the puzzle.”

“What do we think we’re going to find in Lillian’s office?” Alex asks, only just starting to realize that she’s broken into a multi-million dollar corporation for this girl and still doesn’t know what she’s there for.

“This morning Lena overheard Lillian and Lex talking about Kara. Which wasn’t a new occurrence, but then they mentioned something called Project Krypton. Whatever it is they want with your sister, they’re getting ready to act.” Maggie begins leading Alex down the hall, using her phone flashlight to check the name cards on doors.

Alex feels her stomach drop. Kara was in more trouble than she had thought, and Maggie seems moments away from figuring out the truth.

“So we’re here to figure out what Project Krypton is?” She asks, hurrying to keep up with Maggie as she moves down the hall.

“Exactly.”

“And then what?”

“I’m not sure.” Maggie stops and faces Alex. “This is way deeper than any job I’ve worked before.”

“We take it to the police?” Alex tries halfheartedly, already knowing what Maggie will say.

“Because that worked so well with the guy Lex beat up.” Maggie sighs. “We do whatever it takes to keep Kara safe. If something happens to her…”

Maggie’s just as scared as she is, and Alex finds herself feeling more confident. “Hey, it’s ok. That’s not going to happen.” She puts her hands on Maggie’s shoulders and waits for her to look up. “We’re in this together now.”

Maggie grins and Alex has never been so happy to see those dimples. “Yeah, I guess we are. Partners in crime.”

“Partners in crime.” Alex echoes. Maggie takes her hand and they make their way through the halls, wandering blindly until they find the door marked  _ L. Luthor _ .

Alex tries the door, but is met with resistance. “Will the card work?” She asks Maggie.

A quick scan reveals there’s no place to insert it. “Guess we’re going to have to do this old school.” Maggie whispers, pulling a piece of wire out of her pocket.

Alex watches as Maggie effortlessly picks the lock, and she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t a little hot. “I guess you’re good at more than just softball.” She teases.

“I am a woman of many talents.” Maggie smiles, putting the wire back in her pocket before entering the office.

Their footsteps echo in the empty room, and Alex finds herself walking lightly even though no one is around to hear them. She scans the room, eyes passing over the modern furniture and harsh cleanliness. Her eyes stop on a camera sitting in the top corner and Alex freezes.

“Maggie.” She hisses, quickly pulling her hood up over her head. “What about the security cameras?” Thoughts of prison, and worse her mom’s reaction when she finds out Alex snuck out quickly flash through her mind.

Maggie giggles at what Alex assumes is her completely hoodie-covered face. “Lena’s got it handled. The footage is looped until 4 am, we still have almost an hour.”

Alex feels hands pulling at the fabric and suddenly she’s able to see again. Maggie’s standing in front of her, making a decent attempt at hiding her laughter. 

“It’s not funny. I’m too young for prison.” Alex grumbles, running a hand through her now frizzy hair. “And now I have bed head.”

Maggie smiles and tilts her head to the side. “It’s ok, you’re still the cutest criminal I know.” She raises her hand and gently brushes a loose strand of Alex’s hair back behind her ear.

Neither of them say anything and Alex can feel the tension building, Maggie’s eyes meeting hers unblinkingly, and Alex  _ knows  _ if she doesn’t speak soon she’s going to do something stupid.

“We should start looking.” She says, her shoulder brushing lightly against Maggie’s as she walks forward and opens a filing cabinet drawer at random. “Who knows how long this is going to take.”

They spend the next twenty minutes searching in silence. Alex quickly scanning the drawers and Maggie poking around Lillian’s desk.

“Nothing under Krypton, Kara, or Danvers.” Alex sighs, angrily closing another drawer. “Maybe I should try “E” for evil.”

When Maggie doesn’t respond, Alex turns around and finds her staring at a plain manila envelope and some papers. Her eyes are wide and Alex can tell that they’re skimming over some kind of text.

“Maggie?” Alex jogs over to her, “What did you find?”

Leaning over, Alex sees a printed picture, the familiar face of her sister smiling up at her. It’s Kara’s school photo, they have the same one hanging in their living room. Next to the picture is a large block of text, and at the top, printed in bold, “ **Planet of Origin: KRYPTON”** .

“Alex” Maggie’s voice is shaky, “is Kara a-”

Before she has a chance to finish her sentence an alarm starts blaring in the office. Maggie stuffs the envelope in her jacket before grabbing Alex’s hand. “We need to get out of here. Now.”

Alex can’t focus, can’t process everything that’s happening. She allows the ringing of the alarm fill her brain as Maggie leads her to an emergency staircase. Following blindly behind her, she lets Maggie’s hand ground her. Trusting her to get them out safely.

They make it to the ground floor, but Alex can see sirens flashing through the glass doors of the front entrance. The adrenaline kicks in and suddenly she’s back in control of her body.

“This way.” She says, tugging on Maggie’s arm and causing her to abruptly switch directions. They head out a side exit and find themselves in an employee parking lot.

Letting go of Maggie’s hand, Alex quickly turns around. There’s a high fence on all sides, with the only exit leading towards the front of the building. Alex takes a moment to consider the flashing lights, before turning and running in the opposite direction towards the fence.

“We’re going to have to climb it.” She whispers to Maggie, already jumping up and getting a grip on the top. It’s awkward, but she manages to scramble up, rolling over the top and landing hard on her side. Before she can sit up, she hears a curse and suddenly Maggie is on top of her.

They quickly scramble to their feet, and then it’s back to running. Alex just steps behind Maggie, they cut through side streets and don’t stop until they’re far away from Luthor Corp.

Alex collapses on the ground, panting and trying to catch her breath. Maggie drops down next her, looking just as exhausted.

“So…” Maggie starts. “Kara’s an alien”

“Yeah.” Alex nods, because she’s tired, and possibly hours away from being arrested, and maybe it feels nice not to have to carry that secret on her own.

Maggie’s silent for a moment and then shrugs. “It makes sense. No One human can eat that much pizza.”

They make eye contact, smirking before they both break down into laughter.

“It’s late.” Maggie manages to get out between giggles, “You need to get home.”

“I do.” Alex replies, but she doesn’t move to stand up.

“What should I tell Kara?” She asks, thinking of her sister. Happily asleep at home with no idea how much everything has changed.

“Nothing, yet.” Maggie says, growing serious. “We’ll look over the papers tomorrow when we’re not half dead, and go from there.”

 

\--

 

Maggie’s sleepily waving goodbye to Alex outside her house, when Alex notices the large gash on her hand. 

She steps forward and grabs Maggie’s wrist. “What happened?” Alex asks, her brow creasing in worry.

“It’s fine.” Maggie replies, lightly pulling her hand out of Alex’s grip. “I just caught it on the fence.”

“Come on, I’ll clean it up.” Alex says, giving Maggie a look that means it’s not a question.

The lights are all off in the house, and Alex does her best to make no noise as she opens the front door. She leads Maggie up to her bedroom. Sunlight is beginning to peek over the horizon and stream in the window, so Alex doesn’t bother turning the light on.

She puts a finger to her lips letting Maggie know not to talk, and then motions towards her bed. Maggie carefully sits down, resting her injured hand on her lap.

Seeing that Maggie is ok on her own, Alex holds up a finger to indicate she’ll be back in a minute, and then quickly makes her way to the washroom. Grabbing everything she’ll need, Alex hurries back, careful not to make any noise.

She finds Maggie lying down on the bed, already sleeping lightly. Alex briefly considers just laying down next to her and crashing, now that the adrenaline has worn off it’s getting hard to keep her own eyes open. But explaining the strange girl in her bed to Eliza would not be fun.

Sitting down at the foot of the bed, Alex gently shakes Maggie’s shoulder. Maggie rubs her eyes and slowly sits up, letting out a long yawn. “Sorry about that.” She whispers.

“Don’t worry about it.” Alex replies, smiling at how Maggie is still owlishly blinking the sleep out of her eyes. “Let’s get your hand cleaned up.”

Alex washes the cut with a damp cloth and then firmly wraps it in gauze. The injury wasn’t actually that bad, but she’ll feel better knowing it’s not going to get infected.

“All better.” She whispers, watching proudly as Maggie tries flexing her fingers.

“Thanks Danvers.” Maggie gives her a lopsided grin, “I better get home before my aunt wakes up.”

Alex nods, “Yeah, we’ll deal with all this Cadmus stuff tom-”

She’s cut off by Maggie leaning forwards and kissing her. Her lips soft against Alex’s and a hand coming up to run through her hair. For a moment Alex freezes, positive that this entire night has just been an elaborate dream, because there’s no way  _ Maggie Sawyer  _ is kissing her right now.

Her body finally catches up with her brain and Alex moves to deepen the kiss, but Maggie is already backing away. She bites her lip and gives Alex a dazed smile. “Tomorrow. Sounds good Danvers.”

Before Alex can reply, Maggie’s gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kara and lena weren't in this chapter much, but they'll be back in a big way next chapter!


	5. chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again i'm sorry it's been so long!! i know the updates are far apart, but i promise i will finish this fic. enjoy the chapter!!

It takes Alex a couple minutes to gather her thoughts. She feels lightheaded and she can’t tell if it’s from lack of sleep, or the fact that  _ Maggie Sawyer  _ just kissed her. Her heart is pounding in her chest, and she wants to pinch herself to make sure she’s not dreaming. 

Eventually she forces herself to stand up and gather the first aid supplies scattered across her bed. She pads quietly through the hall towards the washroom, trying to force what she knows is a dumb looking grin off of her face.

She’s so distracted that when she enters her room again it takes her a second to notice the new figure perched on her bed. Alex startles when she does, and goes to scream, but before she can get out a sound, she feels a hand pressing up against her mouth.

“It’s just me.” Kara whispers, dropping her hand back to her side and smiling at Alex like she just found out they were having potstickers for dinner.

“What are you doing here?” Alex frowns, trying to keep her voice down. “You’re supposed to be asleep.”

“How am I supposed to sleep when you and your  _ secret girlfriend  _ are making out in the next room?” Kara begins bouncing up and down, her smile somehow growing even larger.

Alex panics, and stares at Kara with her mouth slightly open. This is all too much for her sleep-deprived brain to process right now.

“I woke up when you came back from the bathroom.” Kara continues, taking Alex’s silence as an invitation to keep talking. “I didn’t want to interrupt you and Maggie, it sounded… intimate.”

Alex pushes past Kara and falls face first on to her bed, covering her head with her hands. “She’s not my girlfriend.” She mumbles into the pillow, trusting Kara’s super hearing to pick it up.

Kara follows her to the bed and sits uncomfortably on top of Alex’s legs. Poking at the back of Alex’s head she asks “Well then why were you kissing her in your bedroom in the middle of the night?”

Alex swats at Kara’s hand half-heartedly before sitting up and dislodging her sister from her legs. Leaning back against the wall, she tucks her knees up and allows herself a small smile.

“So I didn’t just dream the kissing part. Nice.” 

Kara shifts back against the wall so she’s sitting beside Alex, and rests her head against her shoulder. “Are you going to do it again?”

“I don’t know.” Alex bites her lip, remembering how it felt to have Maggie’s lips pressed against hers. “I hope so.”

They sit in silence for a few minutes, Alex absent mindedly playing with Kara’s hair and doing her best not to fall asleep.

Eventually, Kara looks up. “Alex?”

“Yeah.” Alex replies softly, her breath catching at the look fear in her little sister’s eyes.

“What’s the Cadmus stuff you were talking about?”

Alex sighs, pushing herself up off the bed. “I’m going to need some coffee first.”

 

\--

 

Kara grips her mug of hot chocolate (she shudders at Alex’s cup of black coffee) tightly between her hands, stopping occasionally to take a sip as she listens to Alex recount the events of the night before. 

It makes her feel uneasy, thinking that Alex and Maggie are breaking the law for her. That her mere existence is putting a target on everyone at National High. And powerless she is to fix any of it.

She doesn’t speak when Alex finishes, just drains her mug and starts quietly using her spoon to poke at the marshmallows still sitting at the bottom.

“I know this is really scary.” Alex starts, reaching out and placing her hand on top of Kara’s free one. “I’m scared too. But Maggie and I are going to take care of this.” She rubs her thumb gently against Kara’s skin, “I would never let anything happen to you.”

Kara smiles shakily at the pure affection radiating from Alex, and has to hold back a laugh at how badly her sister is misreading her reaction.

“Alex, I’m not scared for  _ me.  _ I know how to defend myself. I’m worried about you. And Maggie. What would have happened if you had been caught? And what about Lena?” Kara’s heart skips a beat as she thinks of her friend. “Finding out all of this stuff about her own mother. Being in that house alone with her.” Kara shivers. “It must be horrible.”

“You don’t need to protect everyone Kara.” Alex’s voice is soft, but Kara can see the haunted look in her eyes has only grown. “None of us know what we’re doing. But we’re going to figure it out, together.”

Kara nods slowly, turning her hand around and lacing her fingers with Alex’s. “Stronger together?”

Alex grins. “Exactly. When has anything ever been a match for the Danvers sisters?”

Feeling slightly more reassured, Kara pushes her chair back from the table. “I’m going to go call Lena.”

“Wait!” Alex’s brow furrows. “We need to talk with Maggie first, decide how much we’re going to tell Lena. I know she’s important to you, but especially now the alien thing has to stay a secret.”

Kara considers arguing, but decides Alex has been through enough already. She hesitates, before saying “I think I’m going to call her anyways. Just to check up on her.”

Alex smiles at that. “Of course.” She answers, and Kara pretends she doesn’t notice the overly enthusiastic wink.

 

\--

 

Alex shows up to first period twenty minutes late, completely due to Kara refusing to get off the phone with Lena. Teenagers with superspeed are surprisingly good at keepaway, and it had taken Alex threatening to eat Kara’s lunch to finally convince her to hang up. 

She’s distracted the entire morning, her thoughts torn between Kara’s safety and the kiss that she can’t seem to stop replaying. Eventually she makes it to the lunch bell, and is going to go find Maggie when she realizes that she’s already one step ahead of her.

“Hey Danvers.” Maggie’s leaning against the lockers outside Alex’s history class, her face bright and not showing any signs that she didn’t sleep last night.

“Is that for me?” Alex asks, gesturing at the paper bag in Maggie’s hands. She’s not sure what the proper Morning-After-First-Kiss etiquette is, but she figures light banter is always a safe choice.

Maggie nods, falling into step beside Alex as she heads towards her locker. “I skipped second period to get some breakfast, but I know you’re too big a nerd to ever do that. So I got you a muffin.”

Alex tries to look offended by the insult, but her stomach rumbles and she gladly accepts the bag.

“Eat it quickly.” Maggie laughs, “I forgot to pick one up for your sister.”

Alex raises her eyebrows. “You’re playing with fire there. Literally. She has laser eyes.” She giggles at the worried look that flashes across Maggie’s face briefly.

“Speaking of Kara.” Alex starts, turning away from Maggie to open her locker. “I kind of told her.”

Maggie sighs dramatically. “Remind me never to trust you with a secret. How much?”

“Everything?” Alex asks, swapping her books for the afternoon while unwrapping her muffin with her free hand. “But she heard us talking about Cadmus! What was I supposed to tell her?”

“It’s fine, we were going to have to tell her eventually.” Maggie says, before looking back over her shoulder and lowering her voice slightly. “I have the files. We should go find her and look them over.”

Alex stuffs a large chunk of the muffin into her mouth, already dreading finding out more. But she dutifully nods and follows Maggie down the hall. She’s beginning to feel like she’d follow Maggie anywhere.

 

\--

Kara sits down cross legged across from Maggie and Alex, placing her lunch bag in front of her, but leaving it unopened. They’re all grouped together on the grass in the far corner of the yard, shielded from any prying eyes.

“Ok let’s see what we’re dealing with here.” Maggie pulls a manila envelope out of her backpack and drops it on the ground.

There’s a pause as they all make eye contact, unsure who should make the first move. Kara hesitates, and then picks it up, pulling a thin stack of papers out.

She glances over the title and her own face smiling up at her, and begins to skim the blocks of text.

She reads in silence for a few minutes, before she’s interrupted by Alex asking “So?” Kara looks up and sees her sister impatiently tapping her fingers against Maggie’s knee.

“It’s just… stuff about Krypton.” Kara says unsurely, flipping to the next page to see if it’s any different. “And some if it’s  _ really  _ inaccurate.”

Kara starts going through the pages much more rapidly, abandoning on the ground when she decides that there’s nothing of importance. Alex and Maggie each grab some up and start checking the pages themselves.

“It’s like a wikipedia article written by a fifth grader.” Kara’s not sure if she should laugh or be even more scared.

“This one has your class schedule and first semester report card.” Says Maggie, holding up a piece of paper.

“Ok we’ll set that one aside.” Alex takes the page and places it inside her physics binder.

Kara’s just about to say she thinks they’ve hit a dead end, when she flips to the final page. Clipped to the top corner is a snapshot of her and Lena laughing in the Luthor’s front yard, obviously taken from an upstairs window.  _ PHASE 1  _ Is scribbled on the bottom in black sharpie.

Kara stares at the photo in shock, before looking at the page it’s attached to. The paper is empty except for the words  _ Extraction Date: May 17, 273 Parkdale Ave _ , written in the same handwriting as on the photo.

“Everything alright?” Alex asks, staring at Kara with concern on her face.

“I’m… not sure.” Kara hands the page to her. It’s hard to tear her eyes from Lena’s face.

Maggie leans over Alex’s shoulder and they take in the new information together. “May 17th… why does that sound familiar.” Maggie grabs her phone out of her pocket and after a few taps let’s out a small yell. “That’s the softball playoffs. They’re happening in Metropolis this year.”

“The playoffs.” Kara starts, her brow furrowing as she begins to work everything out. “That’s the game between us and…”

“Cadmus Prep.” Maggie finishes darkly.

“We have to tell Lena.” It’s the first thought in Kara’s mind, and suddenly she can’t stand the idea of Lena being in the dark a minute longer. “She’s obviously a part of this somehow, we need to warn her.”

Alex and Maggie share a quick look. Alex frowns and then reaches out and rests her hand against Kara’s shoulder. “Kara… I know you like her, but we can’t be sure that Lena’s not a part of this.”

“This isn’t about a crush Alex!” Kara says angrily. “She risked so much getting you two into Luthor Corp last night, we need to help her back!”

“Of course we do.” Maggie says calmly. “And no one’s suggesting she’s anything but completely on our side. But Lillian’s her mom, she lives with her. It’s not safe telling her anything that Lillian could use against us.”

Kara huffs and glares down at the papers still scattered on the grass. “We can’t just lie to her.”

“Here’s what we’re going to do.” Maggie says, a cool confidence in her voice that Kara really wished she was feeling. “I’m going to go make a copy of these papers and then I’m going to black out anything that could identify you. We’ll tell Lena that her mother is planning an attack on an alien at the school, but they’ve redacted who it is.”

Kara sighs, not happy with the compromise, but understanding that she’s not going to get any better. Alex’s eyes are shining protectively and Kara knows there’s no reasoning with her once she decides that Kara’s in danger.

“I think I need to go finish up some homework.” Kara sits up, but immediately feels guilty when a hurt look crosses Alex’s face.

“I’m fine!” She says quickly, giving Alex a small smile. “I just need to be alone for a bit. To process.”

Alex relaxes and she smiles uneasily back at Kara. “Ok, I’ll see you after school then. I love you Kara.”

“I love you too. Bye Maggie.” Kara gives them a quick wave before walking back towards the school. She tells herself that Lena’s going to be fine, that she’s going to  _ make sure  _ nothing happens to her, but it doesn’t help the uneasy feeling settling in the bottom of her stomach.

 

\--

 

Alex bites her lip as she watches Kara leave, wondering if they made the right decision.

“She’s going to be ok.” Alex feels a hand resting on top of hers, and smiles up at Maggie.

“I really hope so.” Alex frowns when she sees Maggie start to stand up. “Where are you going? I figured we could walk back to third period together.”

Maggie grins. “To the library, I need to make those copies. And then to Cadmus Prep. I’ve already gotten seven texts from Lena asking about what happened last night. Apparently Lillian’s furious.”

“Oh.” Alex pauses, not sure what she was expecting. “Ok. I’ll see you around then.”

Maggie gives her a mock salute and Alex waves half heartedly back. Just as Maggie turns to go Alex calls out “Maggie, wait!”

Turning on her heels Maggie raises her eyebrows at Alex. “Yeah Danvers?”

Alex quickly stands up and walks over to her. “Are we… going to talk about the kiss?” She feels herself blushing and quickly looks away.

Maggie’s smile slowly grows, the dimples that Alex always melts for appearing on her cheeks. “Well, did you enjoy it?”

“Yeah.” Alex says, her voice slightly breathless. Her cheeks are burning but she forces herself to meet Maggie’s eyes.

Maggie tilts her head to the side. “Then we’ll definitely talk about it. But right now I need to go sneak into a private school.”

Alex hesitates, but before she can change her mind she steps forward and kisses Maggie. It’s soft, their lips pressing together and Alex’s hand lifting to cup Maggie’s chin. Eventually they break apart, and Alex grins at the way Maggie’s face has reddened to match her own.

“Be careful.” Alex says, her hand coming up and brushing a piece of hair behind Maggie’s ear. “Just.. don’t get arrested or anything.”

Maggie smiles, leaning into the touch. “I didn’t know you cared.”

Alex doesn’t think she’s ever cared more. 

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr @maggiesalex so feel free to come yell at me about the fic or just in general!!


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